#Pro-Ana

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Transcript of #Pro-Ana

#thinspoThe Emergence of thinspiration blogs on the internet#ThinspoHistory:What is it?RelevanceWhere is it Found?85% of Girls aged 8-10 (sexualisation of pre-teens) Believe they are “overweight”45% have already started dietingIn the past decade, the number of girls that have eating disorders has DOUBLEDOver half of teenage girls and nearly 1/3 of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors (skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives.)

Examples:Real Life Situation:#THINSPOEmergence of thinspo culture started in late 90’sstarted to become more popular with the rise of hashtags and sites such as Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, InstagramA sense of belonging (77%), social support (75%), support for the choice to continue current eating disorder behaviors (54%)#Hipbones, #Thigh Gap,#Collarbones, #Bikini Bridge ,#bonespoPsychological factors:OCDdepressionangerthe need of control some feel the need of control Facts:Why do it:Hashtags:To what extent can we hold the media responsible for a widespread obsession with unrealistic body ideals? AOK and WOKKnowledge IssueAreas of Knowledge

Ways of Knowing:

Historyflappers, pin-ups, victorian etcThe ethicsTo what extent is the use skinny females to represent the average "healthy" female ethically correct?Reason:why do we do/succumb to these things without questioning it?The arts:Viewing modelling/fashion and advertisements/commercials, as art

The media undoubtedly propagates idealistic visions of beautybut to what extent can they be blamed for the "obsession"to what extent can it be considered "unrealistic"

The Role of the Media--> CelebritiesCompaniesWebsites:thinspo= is an online phenomenon that serves as an illustration of the media's portrayal of the ideal human form/ aesthetic The Fashion World; Models, PhotoShop, magazinesThe Other Side of it--> Advocates of "Real Beauty"Jennifer Lawrence, Beyonce"Healthy" weightloss blogs#FitspoTo what extent to both sides blend?-->Body ShamingSkinny Shaming, Fat ShamingEmotionSense of Perception

Renaissancevoluptuous20’sflat, boyish figure50’sCurvy Pin-ups90’s

heroin chic lookhttp://anorexic-you-mean-perfect.tumblr.com/“thin-girls-have-more-fun.tumblr.com/‎”missbodyissues.tumblr.com/‎Some websites such as tumblr, pinterest and instagram are now making an effort censoring the hashtag#thinspiration #proanorexia and #probulimia are now unsearchable tags

Are they indirectly supporting detrimental trends by hosting them on their sites?Are social media sites ethically bound to the protection of their users?

Discouragement Editors are notorious for over-photoshopping images of celebrities and thin models Many people have different perceptions of the ethics behind photoshopsome say it enhances their beauty and is a means for altering artothers: represents distorted images and unrealistic idealsAdvertising and Commercials PhotoshopCelebritiesMovies/TV Often presents unrealistic ideals of body image.Use of overly skinny actresses and modelsKate Moss: Known for her thin figure, Kate Moss was single handedly seen as the Icon of the 90’s and the origin of the “Heroin Chic” look.Celebrities and their weight are a prevalent topic of many thinspiration blogs, encouraging women to attain the same realitiesMary-Kate Olsen: Checked into rehab for a eating disorder

Beyonce (size 6)- considered “voluptuous”Zooey DesChanel (121lbs)- is a “normal, average size”national american average is a size 16

Having such "role models" and "representatives" can often emotionally influence young naive teens and one should question the reasoning behind using such figures in the media. CompaniesBrandy Melville One size fits most policy→ generalizing the norm/what’s trendyBrandy Melville’s company practices are toxic to our culture. - Rini Sampath, Opinion WriterAbercrombie Mike Jeffries, ceo of Abercrombie response to their company not carrying XL was that they were trying to target the “cool kids in school”““That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people.”Derivatives of the Thinspo trend

“In Hollywood, I'm obese. I'm considered a fat actress”-FitspoThe Blogs:Promotes being fit, healthy and active lifestyle. Often contain images of people working out, healthy food and nutrition facts

The extremity of it: Fitspo blogs often shame people for their unfit lifestyle Skinny Shaming and Fat Shaming are examples of thisHow thin is the line between thinspo and fitspo?

Although claiming to promote a healthy lifestyle, Essentially, the sole purpose of the blog (similar to thinspo) is to inspire women to lose weightAlthough focusing on healthier alternatives than thinspo, Fitspo blogs still perpetuate unrealistic body ideals with the use images of underweight girls with slight muscle definitionwhile the use of “fit” girls make the idea more “acceptable”

Body ShamingBody Shaming: Shaming those who do not have a “healthy” body.

Fat Shaming: the act of bullying or shaming those who are overweight. The idea of being fat is often associated with being lazy, gross or unhealthyKe$ha had recently admitted herself into rehab for a eating disorder. The singer claimed this started when a unflattering photo of her became a topic of many talk shows and news paper. Both are just as bad as they are still unrealistic and contribute to body dysmorphia. Skinny Shaming: often shames girls who are naturally skinny for being this way. The idea of being thin can be associated with being weak, sickly or anorexiaAlexa Chung known for her tiny boyish figure was skinny shamed to an extent of closing her instagram when a image of her and her skinny legs were being posted.SummaryKI: To what extent can we hold the media responsible for a widespread obsession with unrealistic body ideals? Our own bias:

Personally, we feed into these ideals set by the media.We shop at stores such as Brandy Melville and Abercrombie, we watch tv shows with skinny actors/actress,we read magazines filled with photoshopped models, all the while knowing about how toxic these can be for people and girls just like us. Real Life Situation 2RLS: The perception of social class in relation to skin-colour- Pigmentocracies

Colorism: is not a synonym of racism, colorism is the dependence of social status on skin color aloneNumerous pigmentocracies across the world, show that lightest-skinned peoples have the highest social status, followed by the tanned-skinned, and finally the darker-skinned who are at the bottom of numerous social hierarchiesMethods of altering skin pigment are very common, some methods are:BleachingBeauty products such as cream ¼ women surveyed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines use a skin lightening cream.

Knowledge Issue #2To what extent has history influenced our perception of what we believe social superiority looks like.Blogs that inspire you to become thin, often promoting/involving unhealthy habits such as anorexia and bulimia International ColorismNorth America:the phenomenon behind bronzer and artificial tanningCommercialization of light-skin blacksFrance:Melanin pills-speed up melanocyte productionAsia:Class association with porcelain/light skin“ Asian mythological protagonists are typically fair and depict virtue, purity, and goodness. Fairness is equated with feminine beauty, racial superiority, and power and has strong influences on marital prospects, employment, status, and income.[12]”In British India, those with fairer skin were allowed more privllages Most indian actor/actresses have light skin tonesExtreme Tanning equated with youth in JapanHarajuku

Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Magazines, Twitter, FacebookRenaissanceSlaveryThose with lighter skin were allowed to work in the house, as opposed to the fields20’sCoco Chanel made tan skin seem fashionable,luxurious and healthy

TodayWestern: tan skin is associated with having free time Asia: seen as having higher social standing, as opposed to having to work outdoors in fields

Art and Colorism African Americans possessing lighter skin complexion and “European features” are able to have more opportunities in the entertainment industry; actors, models, personalities, ect..less than 1% of african american models are used in advertisement Dark skinned males are usually depicted in stereotypical stock, character rolesAfrican American Studies Proffessor Darron T. Smith, Ph.D. explains that The typical roles that Black males are depicted in are: the token black person, the comedic relief, the athlete, the over-sexed ladies' man,the violent black man as drug-dealing criminal gangster thug.

History of Skin Color and Hierarchyvery pale, almost white skin. Often used powder History:History has shown that people with lighter skin often have a high social standingMedia:Lighter Skinned actor/actresses/models are hired more often presenting an unrealistic idealThe ethicsJudgement based upon one's skin colorReason:why do we do/succumb to these things without questioning it?The arts:Viewing modeling, fashion and advertisements, as artHistory of Body TrendsSkin Colour and Social Hierarchy: PIGMENTOCRACIES As early as 1944, Alejandro Lipschutz, a Chilean anthropologist, coined the idea of Latin America as a pigmentocracy where the region’s social hierarchies are ethnic or color-based.

A study of five Latin American countries has shown:

that skin color is more closely correlated with one's occupation and education than their self-identifying factors (like one's qualifications)Media’s portrayal of skin pigment:Works CitedThe role of MediaFinal ConclusionKI 2 - To what extent has history influenced our perception of what we believe social superiority looks like.KI 1 - To what extent can we hold the media responsible for a widespread obsession with unrealistic body ideals? Our own bias:

The media surrounds us everydayguerrilla style marketingMore power as technology growshuge responsibility to be ethicalBut,The effort is made to portray "Real Beauty"Light censorship is done to discourage unhealthy trendsOther components to consider, like psychological disorders and personal relationsOur own bias: Although we learn about the archaic nature of the past, History is still a big factor in the values we share with family and hold amongst ourselvesleading us to believe, that history implicitly influences our perception of social hierarchy, but our ability to question archaic values is what continuously keeps these beliefs evolving"ANAD." Eating Disorders Statistics Â« Â« National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. <http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/>.